Translational and genomic pediatric cancer epidemiology training program

The University of Minnesota Department of Pediatrics and Masonic Cancer Center propose to continue a highly successful training program in translational and genomic pediatric cancer epidemiology research. Our program is sought nationally by scholars, and provides opportunities for 2 postdoctoral and 2 predoctoral trainees to enhance their research and experience across a spectrum of pediatric cancer research, with a goal of interdisciplinary cross-training. With 16 outstanding mentoring faculty, trainees work in a variety of research settings including classical epidemiology, genomic epidemiology, and clinical investigations; laboratory studies may complement trainee work in the other areas. Along with seminars specific to pediatric cancer, strong graduate school degree programs at the University of Minnesota in Epidemiology (PhD), Bioinformatics and Computational Biology (Ph.D., M.S.) and in Clinical Research (MS) offer opportunities for courses in epidemiology, cancer epidemiology, biostatistics, bioinformatics, cancer biology, genetic epidemiology, bioinformatics, computational biology, immunology, clinical trials/methods, and field research. Further, students have several unparalleled opportunities for supervised translational and genomic research projects in human, in vitro data, study design and development, statistical analysis, and individual and team grant writing. Predoctoral students are formally admitted to the graduate school PhD program in Epidemiology or Bioinformatics and Computational Biology. The postdoctoral trainees are drawn from the medical, basic and applied sciences through national advertising and our Masonic Cancer Center members, and from the cohort of medical fellows in the Department of Pediatrics who have completed advanced clinical training in pediatric oncology and are embarking on the research component of their training. We anticipate that two of our postdoctoral trainees will choose to obtain an MS in clinical research or bioinformatics and computational biology. Criteria for selection of both pre- and postdoctoral trainees include a strong academic performance and a career orientation toward independent research in an academic, clinical, or public health setting. Each trainee is guided by at least two senior mentors from complementary disciplines in their research projects. All trainees participate in courses in pediatric cancer topics and readings in pediatric cancer epidemiology, weekly pediatric cancer seminar meetings and pediatric tumor conferences, monthly seminars, annual retreats, and presenters of their own research at national meetings. Postdoctoral students receive additional training in grant writing/preparation. All receive instruction in the responsible conduct of research. Trainees who graduate from this program will have the capacity to undertake high impact pediatric cancer research across a spectrum of disciplines.